Fruity Summer Iced Teas

Now that summer weather has arrived, I have some suggestions for tasty, fruity iced teas that don't require sugar or other sweetener.

Harney & Sons Raspberry Herbal comes not only in individual sachets and loose tea packages, but  in large bags sized for making 2 quarts of iced tea.  For those who don't like hibiscus, this tea has hibiscus as its first ingredient, but it isn't very noticeable in the flavor.  The longer you steep the tisane, the more intense the flavor.

Adagio Blood Orange Herbal  provides an iced tea brew that is slightly sweet but also tart and tasty.  For iced tea, I let the tisane steep for 10 minutes.

Adagio Berry Blast Herbal is smoother and sweeter than the Blood Orange brew.  Again, I recommend a 8-10 minute brewing time to get the most out of the tisane.

If you can find it, Taylors of Harrogate's Blackberry and Elderflower herbal makes a simply amazing iced tea with a unique combination of flavors.  It seems to have been discontinued, but I was able to buy a box fairly recently, so there are still boxes in circulation.  I used 6 tea bags for 2 quarts of iced tea.  I'm going to be sad when I use up this box.

Blackberry and Elderflower has been replaced by Blackberry and Raspberry, but I haven't yet had occasion to try that.

If you want some caffeine in your iced tea, I highly recommend Republic of Tea's Raspberry Quince.  It's very slightly sweet but different enough from an ordinary raspberry tea.

Republic of Tea has come out with several blends in large pouches for making iced tea.  I've yet to try them, so no recommendations yet!

Alys's Tea Party Blend: Bitty Battle Bard Brew

I haven't had the chance to order and try this one myself, but +Mia Petticord , aka Bitty Battle Bard, sampled her own brew today and was quite pleased with it:

"So my tea came in today and I'm super happy with it. It tastes...cozy is the best word I've got. It tastes like maple oatmeal, and hot chocolate, and an after taste that reminds me of good porter. This is a Good Thing (even though I can see how all those flavors could go Very Wrong together). It's got a rich mouth feel even without cream or milk and just kind of melts into the kind of feeling of having just had oatmeal instead of a cloying weird after feel."

I'm delighted that she's pleased with it.   So far I have way more hits than misses in making blends for my friends, which makes me happy.

Tea Tasting: Tea Forte's Mojito Marmalade

Because I hate rooibos (as you all know by now), I managed to wrangle a guest reviewer into tasting Tea Forte's Mojito Marmalade tisane.  +Mabel Fortune  says:

"I rather enjoyed it.  It's predominantly mint, with a hint of other flavor that I can't quite identify.  It doesn't distinctly taste of orange or of rooibos -- the combination of the two makes it difficult to describe.  It kind of is like a warm mojito with a hint of a citrusy king of flavor.  It didn't wow me, but it wasn't bad at all."

Alys's Tea Party Blend: Charitye's Raspberry Cinnamon

One of my custom blends through Adagio, Charitye's Raspberry Cinnamon  is now available in version 2.0, re-blended to increase the raspberry flavor.  The original blend was too weakly flavored, with both the cinnamon and the raspberry appearing only in the aftertaste.

Version 2.0 has a stronger raspberry scent and flavor.  I left the cinnamon as an aftertaste, so the entire blend is somewhat reminiscent of a raspberry cobbler.  Increasing the raspberry also had the side-effect of lowering the caffeine content, so this blend can be brewed for iced tea and drunk all day without keeping you up at night.  Which is what I'm doing right now.

I'm going to try an experiment putting a cinnamon-sugar blend into the tea (both hot and iced of course), as soon as I can get to the grocery store.

Tea tasting: Mighty Leaf's Organic Almond Spice Green

Mighty Leaf's Organic Almond Spice combines Indian-grown green tea with with cinnamon, cardamom, and almond.   It's very disappointing.

This tea should be good.  It has flavors I like, and which ought to combine well with a sweeter green.  However, the flavors are far too light and the tea is far too weak to be enjoyable.   The green tea doesn't speak for itself at all.  The added flavors of cinnamon and cardamom are only barely there.  I don't taste almond, which perhaps disappoints the most.  Overall, it's only a few very small steps more flavorful than hot water.

Teavana Goes Bottled

Stopping in at my local Starbuck's this week, I discovered that Teavana is now selling bottled iced tea.  Well, that sorts of demands that I try it.

The first bottle was Passion Tango Herbal Tea.  It tracks Teavana's Passion Tango tea blend fairly well.  It's fruity and sweet, but the hint of cinnamon in there makes it better than the average sweetened fruit tea.  I would dial back the hibiscus and the sweetener, myself, but that's a very personal taste issue.  If sweetened tea is your thing, it's pretty good.

On the other end of the spectrum was the Peach Green Tea.  This one definitely qualifies as "I drink bad tea so you don't have to."  It started out just fine, as a nice peachy green with very little sweetness.  But then the horrible grassy aftertaste reared up and smacked me in the palate, as though I'd been gargling with lawn cuttings.  I like a good grassy or leafy green tea.  This, however, was far too much grass for the taste of anyone not an equine.  The nasty aftertaste ruins what had been a perfectly workable slightly sweet green tea.

Thyra's Tea Tasting Party, part 3

Iseault’s Clewefull Green: (green tea, orange peels, natural pomegranate flavor, raspberry leaves, marigold flowers, raspberries, natural mandarin flavor)

Tastes accurately as it smells (and especially tastes as strong as it smells)

Very citrusy. Good summer tea

"I get more of the raspberry than citrus flavor" ..."I’m opposite."

Many folks don’t get citrus flavor.  It’s tart but not citrusy tart. 

Smells like Tealuxe's Vanilla 

Sabine’s Merry Melody: (assam black tea, lavender flowers, orange peels, blue cornflowers, natural vanilla flavor, natural bergamot flavor, natural creme flavor, red peppercorns)

Smells more aromatic when than it tastes Maybe needs milk?

Tastes like regular black tea with all the extra aromatics just in the nose. Not as warm as an Assam. Not as flavorful as Earl Grey. 

Would like it as a candle or sachets. Smells great.

The peppercorns did not come through, nor the lavender.

Want it to effervesce a little bit, like Sabine!

Sabine’s outfits make us think of hibiscus, for possible improvement. Want to turn it into a shortbread-accompaniment, we think it would go really well together. 

Not bad but doesn’t live up to any expectations.

Nataliia’s Chocolate Babka: (black tea, natural hazelnut flavor, natural caramel flavor, natural chocolate flavor, dark chocolate chips, cocoa nibs)

Everyone loves the smell.  Once brewed, smells like coconut or German chocolate cake

Has a mouth-filling quality, like good coffee.

Good dessert substitute when you’re too full for actual dessert. But also good with cinnamon cookies (and probably with gingerbread).  

"Yum, yum, yum!"

Good with milk – makes it taste more like babka

"Is there more?"

Lillia’s Blueberry Crampet: (black tea, rose hips, hibiscus, apple pieces, natural blueberry flavor, blueberries, raspberry leaves, lavender, cornflowers)

All getting different smells out of the tea tin (lots of rose, lots of hibiscus, and blueberry in combination).  Hibiscus is stronger in the nose, but not in the flavor

Differing opinions on the fruit elements: Good with cinnamon cookies, but the blueberry gets lost.  Blueberry flavor is there, but can be easily overwhelmed.  On the other hand, too fruity for some tasters

Extremely clean finish, no astringency. Very easy-drinking.

However, easily obscured by chocolate (e.g. accompanying cookies)

"Reminds me of blueberry cookies."

Elizabeth’s Danger Spice: (black tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, natural pumpkin spice flavor, natural gingerbread flavor, cloves, natural caramel flavor, orange peels, marigold flowers, cardamom)

Surprisingly un-aromatic when steeped.  Some folks definitely get the caramel, not everyone.  Not rich caramel, just a hint.

Bitter, with a big empty place in the middle. Very sorry to be reporting this![1]

[1] (Its namesake really likes it, but I am open to suggestions for improving it)

Boardwalk Creamsicle: (decaf ceylon tea, black tea, orange peels, safflower, natural vanilla flavor, natural creme flavor, natural orange flavor)

We like it! (Universal crowd pleaser) Like a really light orange cake

For some, it's all orange flavor, no creamsicle, but that’s just fine. Others definitely get the crème.  Also good with milk in it.  Very clean finish. 

Super great with milk. But also good without. Neither really is superior, just different. This surprises us, since usually it’s more distinct which way is better.